Company News
National Survey Reveals that Despite Significant Concern about U.S. Economy, Impact on College Enrollment Is Minimal
FastWeb and Maguire Associates Release College Decision Impact Survey
CHICAGO, Il - February 12, 2004 - As college tuition costs continue to rise and the economy struggles towards recovery, a study of more than 70,000 college-bound high school juniors and seniors - and a subset of their parents - conducted by FastWeb and Maguire Associates finds that, while economic concerns are on the rise, college enrollment decisions have been minimally affected. FastWeb, LLC is a division of Monster, the leading global online careers property and flagship brand of Monster Worldwide.
Forty-five percent of the 56,198 college-bound high school seniors surveyed say they and their parents were "highly concerned" about the state of the U.S. economy in the spring of 2003. Comparatively, of the 73,307 high school seniors surveyed one year earlier (March 2002), only 28 percent indicated high levels of concern about the economy. The greatest growth from 2002 to 2003 occurred among families in the upper income brackets.
Despite this increase, only 10 percent of students and 16 percent of parents surveyed in 2003 reported that concerns about the economy had a significant influence on their final selection of a school.
According to Barbara Fritze, Vice President of Enrollment/Educational Services at Gettysburg College, "Our last admissions cycle was quite unusual. The state of the economy coupled with tuition increases has meant that a higher percentage of a family's income will go to paying for college. Despite this fact, we saw a 10 percent increase in the number of students applying to Gettysburg. Families seem quite focused on deriving value from the investment in college rather than being driven exclusively by costs."
By the summer following graduation- after college decisions have been made -the number of students highly concerned about the economy had decreased sharply in both years (24 percent in 2002 and 26 percent in 2003). However, unlike the high school graduates themselves, many parents of college-bound students were highly concerned about the economy in both summer 2002 and 2003 (45 percent and 50 percent, respectively).
"We've seen a marked increase in the number of families from affluent communities asking us to add financial safety schools to the list of candidate colleges for their children," said Richard Avitabile, an educational consultant with Steinbrecher & Partners of Westport, Connecticut. "While decisions on which college to attend will still focus on the best academic fit, parents want to consider colleges of choice that offer lower costs or merit scholarship programs."
Percentage of survey respondents indicating high concern or influence
|
Concern about state of the US economy |
Influence of the economy on choice of college | |||
|
2002 |
2003 |
2002 |
2003 | |
|
High school students in spring of senior year |
28.1% |
44.5% |
15.8% |
19.2% |
|
High school students in summer after graduation |
24.3% |
26.3% |
9.4% |
9.6% |
|
Parents of high school seniors in summer after graduation |
45.0% |
50.1% |
15.0% |
15.5% |
For additional information about the College Decision Impact Survey, please contact
Maguire Associates
Kathleen Dawley, 781-280-2900
kdawley@maguireassoc.com
FastWeb
Baird Johnson, 312-832-2126
bjohnson@fastweb.com
Monster
Kevin Mullins, 978-461-8751
kevin.mullins@monster.com
Weber Shandwick Worldwide
Jackie Pigliucci, 617-520-7066
jpigliucci@webershandwick.com
Research Methodology
In March 2002, 73,307 high school seniors were surveyed; in March/April 2003, 70,572 juniors and seniors were surveyed (Spring survey). Seniors in both years were followed up with in June/July (21,112 students in 2002 and 17,066 in 2003; Summer survey). 9,363 parents of high school seniors were surveyed in 2002 and 7,138 in 2003 (June/July both years). Data was collected via an online survey. Student participants were registered FastWeb users. "High concern" was defined as respondent indicating a "1" or "2" on a scale where "1" = "Extremely Concerned" and "5" = "Not at All Concerned." "High influence" was defined as respondent indicating a "1" or "2" on a scale where "1" = "Will/Did Heavily Influence College Choice" and "5" = "Will/Did Not at All Influence College Choice." The surveys are not scientific and reflect the views of only those individuals who participated.
About Maguire Associates
Maguire Associates (www.maguireassoc.com) is a research-based consulting firm serving educational institutions and associations exclusively. For 20 years, they have applied innovations in market research, analysis, and predictive modeling to help clients understand the dynamics of past performance, apply insightful knowledge to sound decision-making and goal-setting in the present, and to attain critical outcomes as planned. They have served over 350 client institutions, from independent schools, colleges, and universities, to consortia and government organizations focused on education. Engagements, whether tactical or strategic in scope, help clients advance their mission, strengthen their reputation, and enhance the vitality and health of their institutions.
About FastWeb
FastWeb (www.fastweb.com) is the category-leading website for college and scholarship information. Since 1996, over 20 million people have searched FastWeb's database of over 600,000 college scholarships. Today, approximately one in three college-bound students use FastWeb, and more than 18,000 guidance counselors and financial aid officers actively recommend it to their students. FastWeb, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Monster Worldwide, Inc. which also operates Monster, the leading global online careers property.
About Monster
Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Maynard , Mass. , Monster is the leading global careers website, recording over 41.6 million visits during the month of December 2003, according to independent research conducted by I/PRO. Monster connects the most progressive companies with the most qualified career-minded individuals, offering innovative technology and superior services that give them more control over the recruiting process. The Monster global network consists of local content and language sites in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Scotland, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Luxembourg, India, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, and Finland. Monster is the official online career management services sponsor of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team. More information about Monster is available at www.monster.com/ or by calling 1-800-MONSTER.
About Monster Worldwide
Founded in 1967, Monster Worldwide, Inc. is the parent company of Monster®, the leading global online careers property. The company also owns TMP Worldwide, the world's largest Yellow Pages advertising agency and one of the world's largest Recruitment Advertising agency networks. TMP Worldwide is also a provider of direct marketing services. Headquartered in New York with approximately 4,300 employees in 19 countries, Monster Worldwide (NASDAQ: MNST) is a member of the S&P 500 Index. More information about Monster Worldwide is available at www.monsterworldwide.com/ .
Special Note: Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information contained herein, the statements made in this release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the company's strategic direction, prospects and future results. Certain factors, including factors outside of Monster Worldwides's control, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward- looking statements, including economic and other conditions in the markets in which Monster Worldwide operates, risks associated with acquisitions, competition, seasonality and the other risks discussed in Monster Worldwide's Form 10-K and other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which discussions are incorporated in this release by reference.
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